English · KJV

Theodoret of Cyrus

Nicene & Post-Nicene · AD 325–500 · 1,374 passages across 50 books

Commentary

821–840 of 1,374
Isaiah 64:11-12

Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.

If we who bear the name of “your people,” he says, are unworthy of your goodwill, judge the city worthy to be spared by reason of its founder, for it has become a desert. And he makes mention of his name [David] in order to evoke mercy.… As for the passage, “the house, our sanctuary has become a curse,” the other translators have rendered this by “[it has gone] into disappearance.” However, the term “curse” offers just as well a meaning that is in accord with the misfortune suffered; for it is usual to say, “May you suffer what such a person suffered!” So the famous temple, the temple full of holiness, the temple praised by all, has been burned by the enemy’s fire, and it now only serves as a formula to curse those who mock.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:64.9-10

Isaiah 65:2

I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

It is the nations who did not have a prophet sent to them who recognize their maker and benefactor, whereas those who received all sorts of care gained no profit but continued in their sinful habits. The phrase “all day long I have held out my hands” refers to the care for them that he gave for all that time, but the saving suffering of the cross in which he stretched out his hands is also alluded to here.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.2

Isaiah 65:8

Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

If anyone finds one ripe grape in a bunch, he spares the whole bunch on its account, in order to present to God the firstfruits. In the same way, since I promised to Abraham to bless all the nations in his seed, I maintained the seed of all Israel when they sinned, and I did not overlook their slavery in Egypt. For this reason, I freed them from their Babylonian captivity.… The “valley of Achor” is an allusion to the contrition that is among the churches. For Achar or Achor, having stolen and broken the law of the ban, was thrown into a ravine, and through this tragic example they were filled with much contrition.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.8-10

Isaiah 65:9

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

Those who have attained the summit of perfection have as their harbor not life, or the resurrection or any of these admirable things but the desired One himself, for whose sake they counted misfortune a delight, and weary toil the sweetest repose, and time spent in the desert more desirable than city life, and poverty fairer than wealth and irksome slavery sweeter than any position of authority. This is the reward awaited by the doers of virtue. “It is an inheritance for those who serve God,” as the prophet Isaiah exclaims.

ON DIVINE PROVIDENCE 9:11

Isaiah 65:15

And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:

He has already mentioned this name. It is new and not old. For after the appearance of Christ the master, those who believed were called Christians. They bore this in place of all approving words. When one wished to praise, they were accustomed to add after many kind words, “He is a true Christian.” And when on another occasion exhorting someone, they were accustomed to say, “Act as a Christian, do what befits a Christian.” So this name is full of eulogy and blessing.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.15-16

Isaiah 65:20

There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

The heaven became new and the earth new for those who once erred and divinized these things. For they recognize the Creator of these things and learn that the things are not gods but the creations of God. They are new for those who see things completely differently. Now that their error has ceased, creation appears clearly as creation and Creator as Creator.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.17-18

Isaiah 65:22

They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

For us the saving cross is the tree of life. For it received like fruit the life-giving body by which those who stretch out their hands and pick the fruit will live life eternally.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.22

Isaiah 65:24-25 · 2 passages

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

This is a prediction Isaiah made previously after having announced the growth from the stem of Jesse. Now, we see the fulfillment of this prophecy as rulers and ruled, kings and servants, wise and foolish will share a common table—that is, the teaching of the Spirit. For he calls those who live in moderation lambs, whereas those with high ambitions are wolves. The lion is the one exalted to royal status, cattle are those worthy of the priesthood, and straw is the food of cattle. The lion will no longer be a carnivore but shall share the food of the cattle.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.25

“And the serpent shall eat dust as bread.” This is the food that the righteous Judge has assigned to it from the beginning: “On your breast and belly you shall go, and you shall eat earth all the days of your life.” And so Isaiah calls the common enemy of humanity a serpent. He has subjected him to the ancient curse. This is similarly indicated in the passage that follows: “They shall not injure or destroy on my holy mountains, says the Lord.” All strength had been removed from him, not only from the fact that he crept on the ground but also that the saints had trampled him under foot and the wood of the cross crushed him.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.25

Isaiah 66:2

For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

In these terms God rejects the worship that was restricted to one place and shows that he is the maker of heaven and earth, and the shaper of all things and the one who has no need of a temple made with hands... I have a true house and holy temple. It is whoever arranges his or her life according to my laws and fears and trembles at transgressing my commands. It is the person who stands out in a gentle disposition and humility of mind.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:66.2

Isaiah 66:3

He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

By these words he rejected the worship prescribed by the law by teaching this; it was for their sake that he had established this legislation from early times, not because he took pleasure in their sacrifices but because he was exercising forethought for them in their weakness. That is why he put side by side what was allowed and what was forbidden, for to sacrifice an ox or give a sheep as a burnt offering, to offer the fruit of corn and frankincense—these were in former times permitted by God, but to start a fight and lose one’s tongue to blasphemy was totally forbidden.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:66.3

Isaiah 66:14

And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.

For it is not only in the present life that I provide consolation for you through my heralds, but also in the heavenly city I will fill you with manifold joys—granting you the resurrection from the dead. This is what he meant by comparing the growth of bones to the growth of a plant.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:66.13-14

Isaiah 66:19

And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

It is with them [the apostles] that the prophecy found its accomplishment, because it was they who preached the gospel to all nations.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:66.19

Isaiah 66:24

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Just as I will transform all that is seen and will produce a new creation, so I will guard your memory forever—and not yours alone but all those who have believed through you.… He mentions a description of the city and the various dwellings of which the Lord said, “With my father there are many mansions,” that is, levels of worthiness. He means those continually rejoicing and singing in choirs … he has displayed by that the everlastingness of the chastisement, for the fire is inextinguishable and the worm immortal. With this chastisement he has threatened them, and not them alone but also those who infringe on his divine laws. Finally, therefore, so as not to partake of this chastisement with them, let us avoid partaking of their iniquity; for thus we will join the chorus of those who are in joy.

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:66.23-24

James 5:18

And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

It is rash to think that anything which spiritual men say is excessive or badly stated, for what is said is not mindless or superficial. For this man was a prophet, and the greatest of the prophets, on fire with zeal for God. What he said, he said by the inspiration of God’s Spirit, which explains its extraordinary character.

CATENA

Jeremiah 1:2

To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

King Josiah’s father was Amon, an impious man. His grandfather was Manasseh, who had instructed Josiah’s father in his impiety. Josiah, on the contrary, went the exact opposite of them, siding with the party of the godly. His children, however, showed no interest in their father’s virtue and imitated their forefathers’ godlessness. Knowing this in advance, therefore, the God of all elected the prophet in the thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign and commanded him to foretell the calamities that would befall both city and people.

ON JEREMIAH 1. ARGUMENT

Jeremiah 1:5

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

God’s choice of Jeremiah was not without basis: knowledge preceded it. Notice it says that God had knowledge and then he consecrated, for he knows everything before it happens. Now, he employed the word consecrated, meaning “he appointed.” Then God also mentions the task for which he selected him: “I appointed you as prophet to the nations.” Thus, he prophesies not only concerning the fortunes of the Jews but also the other nations. “I replied, O Lord and Master that you are, see, I do not know how to speak, because I am a child.” The prophet recognized the one addressing him. This is why he called him by a title having to do with lordship. When the mighty Moses was once speaking, remember, and wanted to learn the divine name, the Lord said, “I am the one who is.” He imitates Moses’ timidity by saying youth is not up to prophesying. The Lord, however, urges him not to put forward the excuse of youthfulness but to do as he is told.

ON JEREMIAH 1:1.4-6

Jeremiah 1:13-19 · 2 passages

And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.

He emphasizes the justice of what has been done by adding, “I shall pronounce my judgment against them because of all their wickedness in forsaking me. They sacrificed to foreign gods and worshiped the works of their hands.” What could be more foolish than this kind of godlessness? What could be more righteous than retribution? Consider that they, for their part, forsook their own maker and turned things of their own making into gods. He, by contrast, after demonstrating his patient mercy for such a long time, finally deprived them of his characteristic grace. Once deprived of it, they became enslaved to unholy people.

ON JEREMIAH 1:1.16

The blessed Jeremiah also saw a boiling pot tilted away from the north. So he means that Manasseh will recover its own land, Ephraim regain its former power and Judah be renamed king of all, whereas the Moabites will be subject to them, observing their invincible strength—and not only they but also Edomites and foreigners.

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 60:6

Jeremiah 2:13

For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Now, here he clearly reveals to us the mystery of the holy Trinity: he called the only-begotten Word of God a fountain of life. This is the name, too, remember, God personally gave himself through the prophet Jeremiah: “They have forsaken me, a fountain of living water, taken their leave and dug for themselves cracked cisterns incapable of holding water.”

COMMENTARY ON PSALM 36:6

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